Collapsible boat



H. MEYER.

a COLLAFSIBLE BOAT.

APPLICATxoN F1LEnJuNE4,1920.

Patente June 13, 1922.

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H. MEYER.

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT, APPLICATION FILED Juni 4. 1920.

Patented June 13, i922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fgoo lNvENTQ;

BALLONFABRIK AUGSBURG, AKTIENGESELLSCHET.

A GERMAN CORPORATION.

0F AUGSBURG', GERMANY,

COLLAPSCBLE BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June t3, i922.

Application filed June 1920. Serial No. 386,589.

T0 all w 7mm t may concern Be it known that l, HERMANN citizen of the German Empire, reading at Berlin, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible floats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a collapsible boat and more especially to a boat provided with an annular tube which, if filled with air will keep the. boat afloat, whereas after the air has been allowed to escape the tube and the parts connected therewith can be folded.

Boats of the type aforesaid, although offering a fair security against capsizing, becoming leaky and so on, involve owing to their unfavorable form the drawback of moving in the water only very clumsily and! with great difficulty.

In the boat according to the present invention this drawback is obviated by employing a tube of peculiar form inasmuch as the diameter of the tube decreases towards the bow and stern both in horizontal and in vertical direction so that while the substantially straight lateral portions of the tube have a uniform large diameter, the narrower fore and aft portions have a diameter gradually decreasing towards the bow and stern respectively, and at the saine time gradually rise above the water level. In this way a more favorable form of stream lines, as the boat is moving on, and, owing to the gliding effect of the ascending bow and stern portions, a diminution of friction between the boat hull and the water is obtained.

In the dra-wings affixed to this specication and forming part thereof the preferred form of a. collapsible boa-t according to the present invention is illustrated. ln the drawings- Fig. l is a side elevation,

Fig. 2 a plan,

F ig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section on the line A-B in Fig. 2.

Fig. l a sectional view of the bow (or stern) portion, drawn to a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings,'l is the annular tube keepin@ the boat afloat. As clearly shown in the crawing, its straight lateral portions have a larger diameter than the converging bow and stern portionsel and 5, the diameter being smallest at 3. Besides thus reducing the diameter towards the ends the lower faces 6 and 7, respectively, of the bow and stern portions el and 5 gradually ascend in vertical direction from the middle of the. boat towards the bow and stern respectively.

l0 is an air valve serving for introducing and expelling the air. 9, 9 are wooden boards surrounded by the tube and forming the boats bottom, and ll, l1 are waterproof joints consisting for instance of some suitable fabric and connecting the single boards. The bottom as a whole is connected to the canvas-cover (not shown) enclosing the tube by sewing or otherwise.

In order to impart to the boat the stability required for steering special collapsible fin keels l2 are arranged at the bow and stern. 13, 13 are vertical rods or ledges linked to the boards 9 and connected with said keels, and 3, 8 are ropes, preferably wire-ropes, having one end fastened to the bow and stern-portion, respectively, of the tube, while the other end is fastened to one of the boards 9 in the. middle of the boat. As the tube is filled with air and expands, the keels 13 are stretched. On the other hand, as the air is allowed to escape from the tube, the tension of the ropes 8, 8 diminishes and the keels are then folded automatically together with the boat itself. @n the boat-s bottom formed by the boards 9 seats, backrests 14 or the like may be arranged in any suitable manner. I

I claim l. A collapsible boat comprising an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern.

2. A collapsible `boat comprising an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern, the lower faces of the bow and stern portions of said tube extending in planes gradually ascending from the middle of the boat towards the ends.

3. A collapsible boat comprising an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern, the bow and stern portions of said tube converging towards the bow and stern.

4i. A collapsible boat comprising an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern, the lower faces of the bow and stern portions of said tube converging towards bow and stern and extending in planes gradually ascending Jfrom the Amiddle ot the boat towards the ends.

5. A Collapsible boat comprising; an annular air-tube whose Cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern and boards linked to each other and connected with said tube so as to form the boats bottom.

6. A collapsible boat comprising an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern7 boards connected with said tube so as to form the boat-s bottom and watertight pliable Connections between said boards.

7. A collapsible boat comprisingan annu-- lar air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern, boards linked to each other and connected with said tube so as to form the boats bottom and collapsible heels fastened to the said bottom.

8. A. collapsible boat comprising` an annular air-tube whose cross-section gradually decreases towards bow and stern, boards linked'to each other and connected with said tube so as to form the boats bottom, stay ledges linked to said boards at the bow and stern, pliable skins Connected with said ledges and ropes tastenedto the free ends of s-aid ledges and having their ends fixed to said tube and to the middle ot said bottom respectively. Y

ln testimony whereoie l affix my signature.

HERMANN MEYER. 

